A Gender Perspective on Water Resources and Sanitation

Abstract

Women’s lives all around the world are closely connected to and affected by use of and access to water resources. In most societies, women have primary responsibility for management of water supply, sanitation and health at the household level. Water is necessary not only for drinking but also for food production and preparation, care of domestic animals, personal hygiene, care of the sick, cleaning, washing and waste disposal. All these activities are ‐ in most cultures - largely undertaken by women. It is women who are often the caregivers for those who fall ill, who have to fetch and manage water for both the family and productive purposes, and who have the greatest need for private and safe sanitation facilities. Because of their dependency on safe water, women have accumulated considerable knowledge about water resources, including location, quality, and storage methods. They are often the most motivated to ensure that water supply and sanitation facilities are in good order, as they know from experience the vital contribution that both water and sanitation make to their well-being. Yet, despite global commitments made in the areas of water supply and sanitation, and recognition of women’s concerns, the equitable divisions of power, work, access to and control of resources between women and men are hardly ever addressed. Rather, in efforts to improve management of the world’s finite water resources and extend access to safe drinking water and adequate sanitation, the central role of women in water management is often overlooked. Women often have no voice in decisions about the kind of services they receive. This is unfortunate, because women bear the greatest burden when it comes to inappropriate technologies or inadequate access to safe water and adequate sanitation. Women also suffer disproportionately from water-related disasters such as floods and contamination, as they often do not receive warnings or other information about possible hazards and risks. The importance of involving both women and men in the management of water and sanitation has been recognized at the global level, since the 1977 United Nations Water Conference at Mar del Plata and during the International Drinking Water Supply and Sanitation Decade, 1981-1990. Among the guiding principles adopted at the International Conference on Water and the Environment in Dublin (January 1992), principle No. 3 explicitly recognizes the pivotal role of women as providers and users of water and guardians of the living environment. At the same time, it acknowledges that this pivotal role “… has seldom been reflected in institutional arrangements for the development and management of water resources.” Dublin was followed by the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, held in Rio de Janeiro in 1992, which outlined